System and method for selling insurance using rapid decision term

ABSTRACT

An insurance company sells a life insurance policy having a coverage period. The policy provides a total benefit amount which includes an all-cause benefit amount and an accidental death only benefit amount. The policy is initially underwritten on a limited basis and the ratio of the all-cause benefit to the accidental death benefit is low. The insured has the option of providing material to enable comprehensive underwriting and to enable risk classification. If the risk classification improves the policy benefits, the mix of coverage is adjusted to include a higher ratio of the all-cause benefit amount to the accidental death only benefit amount. If the insured does not provide any additional information or materials, or if the materials provided do not result in an underwritten risk classification that enables the policy provisions to be improved, the mix of coverage remains unchanged.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to and thebenefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/260,706, filed on Oct.29, 2008, which is a continuation-in-part of, and claims priority to andthe benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/013,962, filed onJan. 14, 2008, each of which are incorporated in their entirety hereinby reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates in general to life insurance, and inparticular to methods for selling life insurance, such that fullcoverage begins before a policy is comprehensively underwritten.

BACKGROUND

When a person purchases a life insurance policy from an insurancecompany, the insurance company agrees to provide a benefit to one ormore designated beneficiaries upon the occurrence of an insured event.The insurance company and the policy owner enter into a contract,whereby the insurance company agrees to pay a sum of money (the benefit)upon the insured's death (the insured event). In exchange, the policyowner agrees to pay fees at regular intervals (the premiums) in amountsdetermined based on the insurance company's classification of theindividual within its risk classification system. A life insurancepolicy is typically purchased by or on behalf of an individual to beinsured, and upon purchasing the policy the purchaser designates one ormore individuals or entities (the beneficiaries) to receive the benefitunder the policy if and when an insured event occurs. Typically, thepolicy owner begins paying premiums coincident to commencement ofcoverage under the policy.

Sellers of life insurance policies face countervailing concerns whendetermining who to insure, how much to charge for coverage and theamount of coverage to provide. On one hand, offering customers largebenefits at low premiums is a major selling point, and maximizes thenumber of insurance policies sold. On the other hand, insurancecompanies expose themselves to a great deal of risk with each insurancepolicy sold. As an example, if an insurance company sells a policy witha benefit amount of $500,000.00 and monthly premiums of $1,000.00, morethan 40 years will elapse before the sum of the premiums received by theinsurance company exceeds the benefit amount. If an insured event occursearly in the policy's term (e.g., the insured dies), for instance in thefirst five years, the insurance company is contractually obligated todistribute a large sum of money after having received only a small sumfrom premium payments. Insurance companies can mitigate this risksomewhat by increasing premiums, but doing so severely deters potentialpurchasers of insurance policies.

As a result of the risk inherent in selling life insurance policies, thegoal of any life insurance company is to accurately predict themortality rates of classes of individuals. Life insurance companiesdefine classes based on risk factors, predict mortality rates for eachclass, and attempt to accurately classify prospective insureds basedupon factors believed to be related to life expectancy. To ensureaccurate classification of each prospective insured, each policy may beunderwritten based on predetermined risk factors such as age, sex,family medical history, the medical history and current health of theindividual, motor vehicle records (MVRs), and other pertinentinformation. Accurate underwriting requires accurate assessment of riskfactors, accurate classification of prospective insureds, and, assumingaccurate prediction of mortality rates, enables successful mitigationand spreading of risk.

Individual life insurance policies are generally underwritten on eithera limited or a comprehensive basis. Limited underwriting typicallyinvolves asking the prospective insured a series of questions about hisor her medical history and perhaps searching various remote databases todetermine information about the prospective insured, such as age,domicile, prescription medication taken, and criminal and drivinghistory. Comprehensive underwriting (also referred to as medicalunderwriting) typically involves analyzing the results of a series ofmedical tests and review of attending physician records to verify theanswers to a series of questions about the health history of theprospective insured. With comprehensive underwriting, the prospectiveinsured is usually required to provide blood, urine, or other tissuesamples to be tested by a laboratory or other medical professional, andthe results are submitted to a life insurance underwriter. Based on theresults of the medical tests and the prospective insured's answers tothe questions, the insurance company classifies the risk associated withthe prospective insured by placing them in predefined classes. Theinsurance company (or other insurer) sets the premiums and benefitamount according to the mortality rates associated with the appropriateclasses.

Requiring prospective insureds to undergo extensive medical testingbefore receiving insurance coverage is a major deterrent to thepotential sale of an insurance contract. Besides being deterred by thephysical invasiveness inherent in the comprehensive underwritingprocedure, prospective insureds often hope to obtain coverage for thefull desired amount immediately upon applying for an insurance contract,and always hope to pay a reasonable rate for coverage. Life insurancecompanies, on the other hand, hope to sell as many policies as possiblebut also hope to manage risk by not providing coverage withoutreasonably thorough underwriting, a process that usually takes weeks oreven months to complete.

In response to these concerns, methods of selling insurance involving arange of less than comprehensive underwriting have evolved. This rangeis defined by striking different balances between the invasiveness ofthe underwriting, the timeliness of the underwriting, and the price paidfor initial coverage. Generally, a consumer is provided some amount ofcoverage immediately upon acceptance by the insurance company ofapplication and payment of a first premium. Both the amount of coverageand the premiums vary, however, based on whether the insured is coveredby a simplified issue policy or some form of temporary insurance.

Some insurance companies issue so-called “simplified issue” insurancepolicies, typically in response to applications with just five or sixquestions about the health of the prospective insured. A simplifiedissue policy provides coverage following the insured's representationsin the application and payment of the first premium, with coveragebeginning upon the insurance company's acceptance of the application forinsurance. Simplified issue policies are initially underwritten on alimited basis by asking the prospective insured a short series ofquestions about the medical history and current health of theprospective insured. Such policies represent a great deal of risk to aninsurance company because there is little opportunity to verify theprospective insured's responses to the questions or determine healthconditions or other pertinent risk information beyond the few questionsanswered by the applicant. To mitigate this risk, insurance companiestypically charge relatively high premiums for simplified issue coverageand may void the coverage if false answers were provided and deathoccurs during the policy's contestable period (usually two years).

The life insurance industry has developed alternative mechanisms toprovide limited duration life insurance coverage in advance of issuing amedically underwritten policy. One variation includes providing coveragefor only a limited time, and typically provides coverage after theinsured risk has been underwritten on only a limited basis. Agreementsdefining such limited coverage typically include limitations on theperiod of coverage, the face amount available to a beneficiary, and/orthe conditions imposed by the insurance company.

One common example of limited duration insurance coverage is coverageprovided by agreements known as temporary insurance agreements. Theseagreements may precede issuance of medically underwritten policies. Whenit sells a temporary insurance agreement, an insurance company usuallyagrees to provide insurance coverage for a specified, limited period oftime. Typically, this period of time begins to run on a date on which aproposed insured submits to a medical examination. When the specified,limited period of time expires, the insurance company is typically nolonger under any obligation to provide coverage of an insured's lifeunder the temporary insurance agreement.

Another common example of limited duration insurance coverage is a typeof coverage known as “conditional receipt coverage.” When an applicantreceives conditional receipt coverage, the insurance company providesthe applicant with a premium receipt which makes the insurance effectiveonly if or when specified conditions are met (e.g. the proposedinsured's medical history is as was represented on the application, suchthat the insurance company issues the policy as applied for).Conditional receipt coverage does not guarantee full coverage until theinsured has submitted results of a full battery of medical testssufficient to enable comprehensive underwriting. Instead, theprospective insured receives conditional coverage between the time theoffer for insurance is submitted and the time the underwriter issatisfied by the comprehensive underwriting and the applicant isaccepted. If coverage initiated with a conditional receipt continuesafter comprehensive underwriting, the low premiums reflect a coverageamount equal to the insured's full desired coverage amount provided onlyafter satisfactory completion of comprehensive medical underwriting.Because the comprehensive underwriting provides the insurance companywith knowledge of the health of the prospective insured, more accurateclassification is possible. Thus, the insurance company can charge lowerpremiums due to the relatively lesser risk presented by the fullyunderwritten policy. Satisfaction of the requisite comprehensive medicalunderwriting, however, requires action on the part of the insured. Theinsured must submit to an extensive medical examination administered bya qualified physician, a paramedical examiner, or an approvedlaboratory, and often must submit blood, urine, or other tissue foranalysis by a laboratory or other medical professional.

There are downsides to the limited duration methods of providing lifeinsurance in advance of comprehensive underwriting and issuance of thepolicy desired by the insured. Simplified issue insurance, while it mayprovide nearly immediate and unconditional coverage, is very expensiveto maintain and therefore is not a viable option to many consumers.Temporary insurance agreements, while typically easier to obtain due tocoverage being provided temporarily or conditionally in advance ofcomprehensive medical underwriting, are limited in duration andtypically do not satisfy an insured's long-term life insurance needs.Conditional receipt coverage depends for the satisfaction of thecondition upon submitting to a rigorous medical testing regimen. If themedical testing is not performed soon after applying for the policy, thepolicy will not be issued and any temporary coverage will lapse after ashort period. Because many potential insureds fail to obtain therequired tests in a timely fashion, many who apply for policies neverbecome insured as planned. Even among those who do submit to therequired testing, the results of the medical tests may result in thediscovery of risk factors that cause the insurance company to classifyprospective insureds such that premiums are so high as to beunaffordable, or result in the insurance company making counter offersfor higher premiums or lesser amounts of insurance. If medical testingis performed and the results indicate a classification other than asapplied for, the insurance company's obligation is usually limited to areturn of premiums.

SUMMARY

In the method described herein, an insurance company (or other insurer)sells a life insurance policy having a coverage period equal in lengthto the level premium period or another coverage period available underthe policy. For example, the coverage period may be a term of years ofthe policy (e.g. 20 year level premium term), or it may alternatively beequal in time to the period of life of the insured individual (e.g.whole life). The initial premiums paid by the insured may be comparableto the premiums paid for standard conditional receipt coverage orcomprehensively underwritten policies, but generally may be lower thanthe typical premiums paid for standard simplified issue policies withsimilar benefit amounts. The insurance company may accept or reject theapplication after reviewing the information on the application andcompleting underwriting of the application on a limited basis,preferably using information available in prescription drug databases,department of motor vehicle databases, databases of medical andnon-medical information provided by the Medical Information Bureau, orother suitable databases. After policy issuance, the insured has theoption of providing medical test results, blood, urine, and/or tissuesamples to the insurance company for review by the underwriter withinsome contractually defined period of time, for example, at some point intime prior to the expiration of the contestability period of the policy.The test results, blood, urine, and/or tissue samples provided must besufficient to enable comprehensive medical underwriting. If the insuredprovides the required medical information and material, then anunderwriter comprehensively underwrites the insured after the insurancepolicy has been issued. If the results of the underwriting aresatisfactory, the premiums owed by the insured may be reducedsignificantly for the remainder of the term of the insurance policyand/or the benefit amount may be increased. If the insured does notprovide the required medical information or material, the premiumsremain unchanged, as does the level of coverage initially provided. Ifthe insured provides required medical information but the results of thecomprehensive medical underwriting are unsatisfactory, the insured maykeep the policy initially purchased, but the premiums remain at therelatively high initial level and the benefit amount remains unchanged.

Selling insurance policies in this way enables the insurance company tomitigate its risks but offer the consumer a promptly-issued product witha competitive amount of coverage. The prospective insured is providedcoverage for the full coverage period desired at a competitive premiumbeginning after the application has been underwritten on a limited basisand when the offer for insurance is accepted, without waiting forcomprehensive medical underwriting. Further, the insurance companyenables the insured to submit information and medical underwritingmaterials that may be sufficient to reduce the premiums and/or increasethe benefit amount at the insured's convenience.

In addition to submitting to a medical examination administered by aqualified physician provided by the insurance company, the prospectiveinsured may alternatively undergo testing performed by any qualifiedphysician, paramedical examiner, or approved laboratory of the insured'schoice, including the insured's personal physician. This provides theinsured with more convenience and the ability to schedule the requiredexamination coincident with a regularly scheduled physician visit.

In a further embodiment, the insurance company may enable an insured (orother entity purchasing insurance) to purchase an insurance policy whichprovides mixed or blended coverage for the duration of a policy period.The mixed or blended coverage provided under this type of policy mayenable the purchaser to indicate a desired benefit amount for the policyat the time of purchase and to receive immediate or nearly immediatecoverage having a total benefit amount equal to the desired benefitamount. Such coverage may provide an unchanging total benefit amount forthe duration of the policy period. The blend or mix of coverage maychange at various points during policy period to reflect certain riskclassifications made by the insurance company.

Preferably, the insurance company provides mixed or blended coveragethrough a single insurance policy wherein the mix of coverage may changeduring the policy period through substitution of policy schedules. Suchschedules may be amended, cancelled, or modified throughout the coverageperiod of the policy to effect changes in the mix or blend of coverageprovided by the policy. Alternatively, the insurance company may providesuch mixed or blended coverage by providing an insurance policy, whichincludes a first type of coverage and one or more riders to theinsurance policy, which include a second type of coverage.

The insurance company preferably provides the disclosed mixed or blendedcoverage in the form of an insurance policy including a plurality ofscheduled benefits. The schedules of such a policy may provide mixed orblended coverage which includes an all-cause coverage portion and anaccidental death only coverage portion. It should be appreciated that asused herein, the term “all-cause” may refer to insurance coverage whichobligates an insurance company to provide a beneficiary designated by aninsured with a benefit upon the death of the insured regardless of thecause of death, except for certain causes of death specifically excludedin the policy (e.g., a suicide exclusion). The accidental death portionof the policy may provide coverage having a benefit amount distributableto a beneficiary upon the death of the insured only if the death iscaused by an accident. As used herein, the sum of the all-cause benefitand the accidental death only benefit amount is referred to as the totalbenefit amount of the policy.

The purchaser of insurance may purchase blended coverage which providesa total benefit amount equivalent to the purchaser's desired benefitamount at all times during the policy period. Upon purchasing thepolicy, a schedule of benefits may define an initial policy period,during which the blended coverage includes a relatively smallerall-cause portion and a relatively higher accidental death only portion.During this initial policy period, certain insured events may result ineither the all-cause face amount or both the all-cause face amount andthe accidental death only amount being distributed to the beneficiariesof the policy. For example, if the insured dies and the death isaccidental (e.g., the insured dies in an automobile accident), thepolicy may obligate the insurance company to distribute a benefit amountequivalent to the total benefit amount of the blended policy.Alternatively, if the insured dies and the death is non-accidental(e.g., if the insured dies of a disease or sickness), the policy mayonly obligate the insurance company to distribute the face amount of theall-cause portion of the blended policy to the beneficiary.

The disclosed policy may enable the insured to submit information and/ormaterials during an initial policy period sufficient to enablecomprehensive medical underwriting. This material may be submitted tothe insurance company and may enable the insurance company to underwritethe policy and to classify the risk along a continuum of riskclassifications. This assignment to a risk class may be based on therelative mortality risk posed by the insured as indicated by thecomprehensive medical underwriting.

The blend of coverage provided may vary based on the riskclassification. For example, if a risk classification indicates animprovement in policy benefits, the insurance company may modify theblended coverage to provide an increased all-cause benefit amount forthe remainder of the term of the policy and a proportionate decrease orelimination of the accidental death only coverage. The magnitude of anymodification may be based on the extent to which the risk classificationimproves the policy benefits. The insured may be offered the option toreduce or waive any premiums owed for such coverage if the riskclassification improves the policy benefits.

If the medically underwritten risk classification fails to improve thepolicy benefits, the insurance company may continue to provide the samelevel of coverage provided prior to the submission of materials forcomprehensive medical underwriting (i.e., a relatively low all-causebenefit amount coupled with a relatively higher accidental death onlybenefit amount). It should be appreciated that the insurance company maybe obligated based on the contents of the insurance policy to continueproviding at least the same blend of coverage provided prior tocomprehensive underwriting throughout the duration of the policy period,without increasing any premiums owed.

In an example embodiment, the insurance company may comprehensivelyunderwrite the policy and determine that the insured represents apreferred risk. The insurance company may thus alter the blend ofcoverage such that the face amount of the all-cause portion of theblended coverage is equivalent to the total benefit amount—that is, theinsurance company may provide all—cause coverage having a revised policyface amount equal to the desired benefit amount. The results of thecomprehensive medical underwriting may alternatively indicate that theinsured satisfies the underwriting but does not represent a preferredrisk. The insurance company may thus adjust the blend of coverageprovided under the policy such that a larger percentage of the totalbenefit amount is attributable to the face amount of the all-causeportion than was the case at policy issuance, and a relatively smallerpercentage of the total benefit amount is attributable to the accidentaldeath only portion. If the risk classification resulting from thecomprehensive medical underwriting does not allow for an increase in thepolicy benefits, (or if the insured fails to timely submit the requiredinformation), the insurance company may continue providing blendedcoverage having the all-cause and the accidental death only componentsremain as originally issued.

It should be appreciated that the insurance company may determine theblend of coverage from a continuum of blends of coverage. That is, thedisclosed policy may not limit the insurance company to determining onlypreferred risks, satisfactory risks, and unsatisfactory risks. Rather,the results of the comprehensive medical underwriting and/or thequantity of medical information submitted may enable the insurancecompany to modify the schedules associated with the insurance policy toprovide an appropriate blend of coverage from among a continuum ofblends of coverage. Any number of risk categories may be utilized, andany number of different blends of coverage may be associated therewith,to enable an insurance company to provide insurance to a broad spectrumof insureds. The continuum of blends of coverage may range from theaccidental death only portion providing all or substantially all of thetotal benefit amount of the policy to the face amount of the all-causeportion providing all or substantially all of the total benefit amountof the policy.

The total benefit amount provided by the mixed or blended coverage mayalternatively be provided in the form of an all-cause policy having apotentially modifiable face amount and at least one accidental deathrider to the all-cause policy. For example, the insurance company mayprovide an all-cause policy having a relatively small face amount priorto the insured submitting medical information sufficient to enablecomprehensive medical underwriting. The insurance company may provide anaccidental death rider to the policy which increases the total benefitamount to the desired face amount indicated by the purchaser at the timeof purchase. If the insured submits to comprehensive medicalunderwriting, the insurance company may assign the insured to a riskclass and may adjust the blend of coverage accordingly. For example, theinsurance company may increase the face amount of the all-cause benefitprovided by the policy and may appropriately modify or replace theaccidental death only rider such that the total benefit amount remainsequivalent to the desired face amount. It should be appreciated that ifthe risk classification assigned after medical underwriting issufficiently favorable, the insurance company may replace the accidentaldeath only rider by modifying the policy to provide an all-cause faceamount equivalent to the desired face amount for the remainder of thepolicy period. As above, the modification to the riders and all-causepolicy may not in the usual case require the purchaser of insurance tosubmit increased premium payments.

It should be appreciated that by providing this additional component ofcoverage, the disclosed method enables an insured to obtain immediatecoverage having a total benefit amount equal to the insured's desiredcoverage amount, albeit a total benefit amount which is provided forfewer insured events than the all-cause component indicates, togetherwith providing the option to improve the composition of benefits bysubmitting to medical underwriting after policy issuance.

Additional features and advantages are described herein, and will beapparent from the following Detailed Description and the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an example method of selling life insurance.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram indicating two example implementations of themethod of selling life insurance.

FIG. 3 is a graph displaying an example of the value of insuranceprovided over time, for one insured that satisfied the comprehensiveunderwriting requirements and one that did not submit the required testresults, blood, urine, or tissue samples to the underwriter.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an example method of selling life insurancehaving blended coverage.

FIG. 5 is a graph displaying an example of the mix or blend of all-causeand accidental death insurance over time, wherein the insurance is soldaccording to the flow chart of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 contains a flow chart 100 of an example life insurance policysales transaction. In FIG. 1, actions taken and decisions made by aprospective insured (purchaser) are included in Column A, and actionstaken and decisions made by a life insurance company (seller) areincluded in Column B. Although the example life insurance salestransaction 100 is described with reference to the flow chartillustrated in FIG. 1, it will be appreciated that many other methods ofselling life insurance are contemplated. For example, the order of manyof the blocks may be changed, and many of the blocks described areoptional.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the prospective insured makes an offer for alife insurance policy by applying for coverage (block 102). Typically,making this offer includes filling out an application for lifeinsurance, answering questions about the prospective insured's medicalhistory, and paying the first of any premiums due. The life insurancecompany searches at least one database for information about theprospective insured to underwrite the potential policy on a limitedbasis (block 104). For example, the insurance company may search apharmaceutical database containing a listing of all prescriptionmedication taken by the prospective insured, a department of motorvehicles database listing any traffic violations committed by theprospective insured, a Medical Information Bureau database containingmedical health reports from other insurance companies about theprospective insured, or other databases. The insurance company searchesthese databases to underwrite the eventual insurance policy on a limitedbasis; the database searches enable the insurance company to verify theinformation provided in the prospective insured's application. Based onthe results of the database search, the insurance company assesses anumber of risk factors such as age, domicile, prescription medicationtaken, and criminal and driving history, and places the prospectiveinsured in one of a set of predetermined risk classes.

If the limited underwriting qualifies the individual based on apredetermined set of preliminary qualification parameters (block 106),the insurance company accepts the prospective insured's offer forinsurance (block 108). The premiums or other consideration required ofthe prospective insured may be lower than or similar in price to thepremiums paid by an insured purchasing a simplified issue insurancepolicy with a similar benefit. In this example, prior to comprehensivemedical underwriting, the premium amounts or other consideration may behigher than the premiums would be for a medically underwritten policypreceded by conditional receipt coverage with an identical benefitamount. If the limited underwriting disqualifies the prospective insuredbased on the predetermined set of preliminary qualification parameters,the insurance company rejects the prospective insured's offer forinsurance and does not provide coverage (block 110).

Referring still to FIG. 1, as soon as the insurance company completeslimited underwriting and accepts the prospective insured's offer forinsurance, coverage under the policy or agreement begins. The date ofacceptance of the prospective insured's application is known as the“issue date” of the insurance policy, represented by line 114. Theinsurance company continues to provide coverage to the insured for theduration of the term of the policy (the coverage period) 118 (block116). If, during the coverage period, the insured satisfies all his orher obligations under the policy and an insured event occurs (e.g. theinsured dies), the insurance company is contractually bound to pay thebenefit to the designated beneficiaries.

Sometime during the coverage period and after the issue date 114, theinsured has the option to submit to comprehensive medical underwritingby providing additional information and/or material to the insurancecompany, an underwriter, an approved laboratory, or another entityauthorized by the insurance company (block 120). The information ormaterial provided enables the insurance company, an underwriter, oranother entity to comprehensively medically underwrite the policy. Forexample, the insured may obtain medical testing and may have blood,urine, or other tissue samples taken by a qualified physician of theinsured's choice to satisfy the comprehensive medical underwritingrequirements. In this example, the insured receives the benefit ofscheduling the medical consultation when it is convenient, and with aqualified physician with whom the insured feels comfortable.Alternatively, the insured may submit to a paramedical examinationperformed by an appropriate paramedical examiner made available by theinsurance company or may choose to provide blood, urine, or other tissuesamples directly to an approved laboratory. The comprehensiveunderwriting requirements may mandate that the insured undergo tests,provide blood, urine, and/or other tissue samples, or any combinationthereof. In one example embodiment, satisfying the comprehensiveunderwriting requirement may be done at the insured's own expense.Alternatively, the insurance company may be responsible for some or allof the cost of satisfying such comprehensive underwriting requirements.

The insured may be required to provide any information, test results,and/or material to the appropriate party within a contractuallydetermined time period. For example, the contract may obligate theinsured to provide the required information, test results, and/ormaterial to the appropriate party before the end of the period ofcontestability of the insurance policy or insurance agreement. Thecontestability period of a given policy or agreement may be two years;the insured may be required to provide any information, test results, ormaterial before the end of this two year period. Alternatively, theinsured may be required to provide any test results, information, and/orbefore a date not corresponding to the end of the contestability. Forexample, the period of contestability may be two years, but the insuredmay be required to provide test results, information, and/or othermaterial within six months of the insurance company's acceptance of theinsured's offer for insurance.

If the insured provides the correct additional information, testresults, and/or other material before expiration of thecontractually-indicated time period for compliance (block 122), the lifeinsurance company, an underwriter, or another entity performs acomprehensive medical underwriting of the insurance policy (block 124).This comprehensive underwriting may involve further testing of blood,urine, and/or other tissue samples submitted to the underwriter,verification of the answers to questions in the original application forinsurance based on the results of certain medical tests, and/or furtherclassification of risk based on additional information provided by theinsured. Moreover, the comprehensive underwriting may be performedcooperatively by a number of different entities. For example, theinsurance company, an underwriter, and/or an independent laboratory mayperform a portion of the comprehensive underwriting. If a healthyinsured submits the information, test results, and/or other materialbefore a certain date (e.g. within six months of the issue date),additional incentives may apply (e.g. premium rebates, further reducedpremiums, and/or an increased benefit).

If the information, test results, and/or other materials provided to theinsurance company, underwriter, or other entity was not the fullrequired set of information, test results, and/or other materials, or ifthe information, test results, and/or other materials were not providedto the proper entity before the expiration of the contractuallydetermined time period (block 122), the insurance company continues toprovide coverage in the insured's full desired coverage amount but doesnot reduce the premiums or other consideration required of the insuredor increase the coverage amount for the remainder of the policy term(block 126).

If, after comprehensive medical underwriting, the insured is qualifiedto receive coverage in the insured's full desired coverage amount at areduced rate (block 128), the insurance company continues to providecoverage in the insured's full desired coverage amount for the durationof the coverage period 118, but reduces the premiums or otherconsideration due to an amount consistent with the insurance company'smedically underwritten rate class (block 130). The insurance company mayalternatively or additionally increase the benefit provided to theinsured such that the occurrence of an insured event results in agreater benefit paid to the designated beneficiary or beneficiaries.After policy issuance and subsequent to comprehensive medicalunderwriting (block 128), if the insured is not classified as qualifiedfor the insurance or not qualified for improved policy benefits, theinsurance company continues to provide coverage, but does not reduce thepremium amounts or increase the benefit amount (block 126).

The insured may be allowed to continue paying premiums and may continueto receive coverage even if the insured is unable to satisfycomprehensive medical underwriting—that is, the insured may be given thebenefit of his or her bargain. For example, if the results of thecomprehensive underwriting are not satisfactory, the insured maycontinue to pay premiums less than or similar to the premiums or otherconsideration associated with a simplified issue policy, and thebeneficiaries may still be entitled to the benefit of the policy orcontract if the insured event occurs. If the insured does not satisfythe conditions with regards to the information, blood, urine, or othertissue submitted for comprehensive medical underwriting, the insured maybe given the option of replacing the policy with one requiring reducedpremiums and providing a reduced benefit.

If the policy is issued for the whole of the life or to a specified ageof expiry, the premiums determined by medical underwriting may continuefor the contract term. If the policy is issued for a term of years witha level premium for the term, the policy may convert to an AnnualRenewable Term (A.R.T.) policy after the level premium period. SuchA.R.T. coverage may require annually increasing premiums. The option tocontinue the policy as an A.R.T. policy may expire when the insuredreaches a certain age. For example, the insured may retain the option topay an annual, increasing renewal fee each year until the insuredreaches 95 years of age.

FIG. 2 illustrates two examples of alternative implementations of themethod of selling insurance disclosed herein. The prospective insured200 sends an insurance application 202, which constitutes an offer topurchase insurance, to an insurance sales agent 204 or directly to thelife insurance company host device 212 by way of the prospectiveinsured's client device 206. If the prospective insured 200 submits anapplication for insurance directly to a sales agent 204, sales agent 204uses the agent's client device 208 to access a network, such as theInternet and/or some other network 210, which enables the agent 204 tosend the application to the appropriate the life insurance company hostdevice 212. Similarly, if the prospective insured 200 submits anapplication for insurance 202 directly to insurance company with theprospective insured's client device 206, the prospective insured'sclient device 206 sends the application for insurance by way of theInternet and/or some other network 210 directly to the life insurancecompany host device 212.

As further illustrated by FIG. 2, the life insurance company host device212 sends a query to a database host 216 and receives a query response214 over the Internet and/or some other network 210. In differentembodiments, the databases searched to perform the limited underwritinginclude one or more of a pharmaceutical database, a department of motorvehicles database, a database of medical and non-medical informationprovided by the Medical Information Bureau, and/or some other suitabledatabase. The life insurance company host device 212 receives the queryresponse 214, and based on the query response 214 determines whether toaccept the prospective insured's 200 offer for an insurance policy 202.

If the life insurance company host device 212 decides to accept theprospective insured's 200 offer 202, the life insurance company hostdevice 212 may also generate the policy resulting from acceptance of theapplication. The life insurance company host device 212 then sends thepolicy either to the prospective insured's 200 client device 206 or tothe sales agent's client device 208, depending on how the life insurancecompany host device 212 received the completed application. If theinsurance company host device decides to accept the prospectiveinsured's 200 offer 202, an issue date 114 is established and theinsurance company begins to provide coverage. The prospective insured200 is then provided at least some amount of coverage for the remainderof the coverage period 118.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the change in value of insurancecoverage that can result from submission of required medical informationor material after the issue date 114 but before the end of the coverageperiod 118. The y-axis 300 of FIG. 3 represents the value of insurancecoverage provided, calculated as a coverage level divided by a price.The x-axis 302 represents time beginning at issue date 114.Specifically, the x-axis 302 represents the issue date 114, the coverageperiod 118, and the underwriting date 310.

As indicated by the legend 304, dashed line 306 represents the value ofthe insurance if the insured 200 fails to provide any required medicalinformation, test results, and/or material (e.g. blood samples) beforethe contractually determined compliance date. As noted above, this timeperiod may be within the first six months (or other specified period,usually up to two years) after the issue date of the insurance policy oragreement. Since the insured fails to provide material by the compliancedate, dashed line 306 remains constant at a relatively low value evenafter the underwriting date 310 because failure to submit the requiredinformation and/or material means that the insured receives only thebenefit of his or her bargain—for example, coverage in the insured'sfull desired coverage amount at the relatively high initial price.

As further indicated by legend 304, solid line 308 indicates the valueof the insurance provided at various time periods during the coverageperiod 118 if the insured 200 satisfies the comprehensive medicalunderwriting requirements before the contractually determined compliancedate. In this case, all required material is submitted by the compliancedate. On the underwriting date 310, an underwriter or other entitycomprehensively medically underwrites the policy. Solid line 308reflects the relative value of insurance coverage provided before andafter the underwriting date 310. Segment 308 a indicates that an insured200 receives coverage in the insured's full desired coverage amount butat a relatively low value (due to the high premiums charged) beginningon the issue date 114 and continuing until underwriting date 310.Segment 308 b indicates that if the insured 200 submits the requiredinformation and/or material by the compliance date and satisfies thecomprehensive medical underwriting on underwriting date 310, the valueof the insurance increases due to a reduction in premiums and/or anincrease in coverage. Segment 308 c represents the high value of theinsurance after underwriting date 310 due to the continued lowerpremiums and/or higher coverage.

In one embodiment, the value of insurance represented by dashed line 306remains substantially constant after underwriting date 310 even if theinsured submits the proper test results, information, blood, urine, orother tissue samples because the comprehensive medical underwriting doesnot qualify the insured for a better rate class or an increased coverageamount. In another embodiment, the coverage is increased based upon therating classification achieved as a result of medical underwriting. Suchincrease may be relatively small or large based upon the medicalunderwriting results. Thus, the value of coverage may be slightlyincreased despite the insured failing to fully satisfy the comprehensivemedical underwriting requirements.

In an further embodiment, the method disclosed herein includes providingan insurance policy having a blend of least two distinct coveragecomponents which each provide a portion of a total benefit amount equalto a desired benefit amount selected by the purchaser prior to theinsured submitting the required information and/or materials forcomprehensive medical underwriting. The insurance policy may includespecific provisions covering the blend of coverage and provisionsregarding how the blend of coverage may change during the coverageperiod. Specifically, the insurance policy may include a plurality ofschedules which the insurance company may add, delete, or modify toalter the blend of coverage during the policy period.

The blended coverage may result from providing a policy including afirst coverage component with an increasing benefit amount, as discussedabove, and a second coverage component with a decreasing benefit amount.The policy may enable the insurance company to alter the blend ofcoverage provided to the insured during the period of coverage basedupon a risk classification of the insured. This risk classification maybe made based on an outcome of comprehensive medical underwriting. Forexample, if the results of comprehensive medical underwritingsufficiently improve the policy benefits, the insurance company mayprovide coverage to an insured having a first coverage component with aface amount equal to the desired benefit amount. Alternatively, if theresults of comprehensive medical underwriting do not result in improvedpolicy benefits, the insurance company may not alter the blend ofcoverage.

Changes in the blend of coverage provided by the disclosed policy may beimplemented by providing a policy including a plurality of scheduledamounts payable upon death, wherein the scheduled amounts vary based onthe cause of death. For example, certain scheduled amounts may be basedon whether the death is accidental or non-accidental. The scheduledamounts may be amended based on the outcome of the comprehensive medicalunderwriting. It should be appreciated that by providing such a policywith such adjustable scheduled amounts, the disclosed method enables aninsurance company to modify the blend of coverage during the policyperiod.

Thus, an alternative method for providing insurance coverage includesproviding an insurance policy including a plurality of schedules, theschedules defining blended or mixed coverage including multiple types oflife insurance coverage providing benefits for multiple sets of insuredevents. The sum of the benefit amounts associated with each set ofinsured events may be equivalent to a total benefit amount of thepolicy. Moreover, the sets of insured events covered by the multipletypes of coverage may overlap such that certain insured events obligatethe insurance company to disburse a benefit amount based on a firstcomponent of the policy and certain other insured events obligate theinsurance company to disburse a benefit amount based on both the firstcomponent of the policy and a second component of the policy. It shouldthus be appreciated that certain insured events may obligate theinsurance company to provide benefit amounts less than the total benefitamount of the policy, and certain other insured events may obligate theinsurance company to provide a benefit amount equal to the total benefitamount of the policy.

For example, an insurance policy may include a plurality of schedulesthat each defines an all-cause component and an accidental death onlycomponent. The all-cause component may obligate the insurance company todisburse a face amount if an insured dies, regardless of the cause ofdeath excluding certain causes of death specifically indicated in thepolicy (e.g., suicide). The accidental death only component may obligatethe insurance company to disburse an accidental death benefit amount ifthe death of the insured is caused by an accident. Such an insurancepolicy may thus result in a disbursement of the total benefit amountequal to the sum of the face amount of the all-cause component and theaccidental death benefit if a death occurs accidentally, and adisbursement of a benefit amount less than the face amount if anon-accidental death (i.e., death due to sickness or disease) occurs.

The insurance policy may enable the insured to submit medicalinformation and/or materials sufficient to enable an underwriter toclassify the risk represented by the policy. Depending on the riskclassification resulting from the underwriting, the insurance companymay modify the blend of coverage provided. For example, the insurancecompany may reduce or eliminate the accidental death only portion andmay increase the face amount of the all-cause benefit based on afavorable risk classification.

It should be appreciated that by providing an insurance policy having atotal benefit amount equal to the desired benefit amount, the disclosedmethod may provide a consumer with peace of mind based on the ability toobtain a promptly issued policy with a desired total benefit amountimmediately upon acceptance of an offer for insurance, rather thanhaving to wait for successful completion of comprehensive medicalunderwriting.

The multiple components (i.e., the all-cause component and theaccidental component) are preferably implemented as a single policywhich provides for changing blends of coverage components, as discussedabove. The single policy may include a plurality of schedules definingdiffering blends of coverage. By adding, deleting, and/or modifying thebenefit schedules, the disclosed method enables the insurance company tomodify the blend of coverage provided to the insured.

The multiple components or types of coverage disclosed herein mayalternatively be implemented as an insurance policy and one or moreriders to the insurance policy. The method disclosed herein may includeproviding coverage to an individual under an insurance policy having aface amount, and providing a rider to the insurance policy whicheffectively increases the face amount of the policy. For example, thedisclosed method may include providing a policy including a potentiallychanging (i.e., based on the results of comprehensive medicalunderwriting) all-cause benefit and providing an accidental deathbenefit rider to the policy such that if an accidental death occurs, therider obligates the insurance company to disburse an amount equal to thesum of the face amount of the policy and the accidental death benefit ofthe rider. In this example, if a non-accidental death occurs, only theface amount of the policy (i.e., the all-cause benefit amount) may beprovided to the beneficiaries.

The blended policy (or the policy plus rider arrangement discussedabove) may enable an insurance company to issue the policy prior toperforming comprehensive medical underwriting. For example, theinsurance company may sell a policy which takes immediate effect whereinthe policy includes a relatively large amount of accidental death onlycoverage and a relatively small amount of all-cause coverage, andwherein the total face amount (i.e., the sum of the accidental death andall-cause benefits) is equal to a face amount desired by the purchaser.This may enable the insurance company to allow the purchaser todetermine a desired face amount, and may enable the insurance company toprovide that face amount by selecting an appropriate mix of accidentaldeath only and all-cause benefits which is subject to change uponcompletion of medical underwriting.

Upon purchasing a policy providing such blended coverage, the purchasermay opt to submit required medical information and materials to theinsurance company as discussed above. If the insurance company receivessuch information and materials, the insurance company (or anotherunderwriting entity) may comprehensively medically underwrite thepolicy. Depending on the risk classification determined by thecomprehensive underwriting, the insurance company may adjust the mix orblend of coverage. For example, if the comprehensive underwritingresults in a favorable risk classification, the disclosed method enablesthe insurance company to increase the all-cause component and todecrease the accidental death only component. Alternatively, theinsurance company may terminate one or more riders and/or issue one ormore additional riders according to the results of the comprehensiveunderwriting.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart 400 of an example life insurance salestransaction including an additional coverage component prior tocomprehensive underwriting. In FIG. 4, as in FIG. 1, actions taken anddecisions made by a prospective insured (purchaser) are included inColumn A, and actions taken and decisions made by a life insurancecompany (seller) are included in Column B. Although the example lifeinsurance sales transaction 400 is described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 4, it will be appreciated that many othermethods of selling life insurance are contemplated. For example, theorder of many of the blocks may be changed, and many of the blocksdescribed are optional.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the prospective insured makes an offer forlife insurance coverage by applying for coverage (block 402). Typically,making this offer includes filling out an application for lifeinsurance, answering questions about the prospective insured's medicalhistory, and paying the first of any premiums due. In addition toinformation submitted about the insured, the application for insurancemay also include an indication of a total desired face amount of thecoverage (block 402). This indicated total desired face amount may bedetermined by the insured/individual or entity purchasing the insurancealone or in conjunction with an insurance agent.

Upon receiving the application for coverage (including the desired faceamount), the life insurance company searches at least one database forinformation about the prospective insured to underwrite the potentialcoverage on a limited basis (block 404). As discussed above, the atleast one database may include a pharmaceutical database, a departmentof motor vehicles database, a Medical Information Bureau database, orany other suitable database. It should be appreciated that the databasesearches enable the insurance company to verify the information providedin the prospective insured's application and to assess a number of riskfactors such as age, domicile, prescription medication taken, andcriminal and driving history.

Based on a risk classification facilitated by the database search(es),the insurance company may either accept the application for insurance ordeny the application for insurance. Specifically, if the limitedunderwriting qualifies the individual (block 406), the insurance companyaccepts the prospective insured's offer for insurance (block 408). Ifthe limited underwriting disqualifies the prospective insured based onthe predetermined set of preliminary qualification parameters, theinsurance company rejects the prospective insured's offer for insuranceand does not provide any coverage (block 410).

If the insurance company accepts an offer for insurance, the insurancecompany begins provided blended coverage having a total benefit amountequal to the desired benefit amount beginning on the issue date 114(block 416). It should be appreciated that this blended coverage ispreferably provided by a single policy including a plurality ofschedules which define the blended coverage. Alternatively, the blendedcoverage may be provided by a policy in combination with one or moreriders, such as an accidental death rider. The insurance companycontinues to provide this blended coverage for the duration of thecoverage period 118, unless and until the insured elects to undergocomprehensive medical underwriting.

As illustrated, the blended coverage includes an all-cause coveragecomponent and an accidental death coverage component (block 416). Thesum of the benefit provided by each portion may be equal to the desiredface amount. It should be appreciated that the blended coverage providedaccording to the method disclosed herein thus includes a promptly issuedbenefit amount equal to the desired benefit amount. It should also beappreciated that prior to comprehensive medical underwriting, theinsurance company may only be obligated to disburse the full blendedcoverage benefit amount if the insured events for both componentsoccur—that is, if the insured both dies and the cause of death is anaccidental death. Prior to comprehensive medical underwriting, if theinsured dies and the death is not accidental (i.e., the insured dies dueto a disease or of natural causes) the insurance company may onlyobligated to disburse the portion of the blended coverage amountattributable to the all-cause component. It should be appreciated thatby providing blended coverage having a desired benefit amount, theinsurance company may provide coverage having a relatively high faceamount wherein the insurance company is only obligated to disburse thefull face amount if a death occurs which is accidental.

Sometime during the coverage period 118 and after the issue date 114,the insured has the option to submit to comprehensive medicalunderwriting by providing additional information and/or material to theinsurance company, an underwriter, an approved laboratory, or anotherentity authorized by the insurance company (block 420). As above, thisinformation or material enables the underwriter to comprehensivelymedically underwrite the risk associated with the coverage. The insuredmay be required to provide any information, test results, and/ormaterial to the appropriate party (if at all) within a contractuallydetermined time period. For example, the contract may obligate theinsured to provide the required information, test results, and/ormaterial to the appropriate party before the end of a period ofcontestability of the insurance coverage or insurance agreement.

If the insured does not provide any medical information and/or materialas required, the insurance company may remain obligated to provide theblended coverage, including the all-cause component and the accidentaldeath only component, for the remainder of the coverage period 118(block 426). This coverage may be provided for the remainder of thecoverage period 118 at the same blend of coverage as initially provided(block 426). The contestability period of a given policy or agreementmay be two years; the insured may thus be required to provide anyinformation, test results, or material before the end of this two yearperiod. Alternatively, the insured may be required to provide anyinformation, test results, and/or material before a date notcorresponding to the end of the contestability. For example, the periodof contestability may be two years, but the insured may be required toprovide test results, information, and/or other material within sixmonths of the insurance company's acceptance of the insured's offer forinsurance.

If the insured provides the correct additional information, testresults, and/or other material before expiration of thecontractually-indicated time period for compliance (block 422), the lifeinsurance company, an underwriter, or another entity performs acomprehensive medical underwriting of the insurance risk (block 424). Ifa healthy insured submits the information, test results, and/or othermaterial before a certain date (e.g. within six months of the issuedate), additional incentives may apply (e.g. premium rebates, furtherreduced premiums, and/or an increased benefit).

If the information, test results, and/or other materials provided to theinsurance company, underwriter, or other entity were not the fullrequired set of information, test results, and/or other materials, or ifthe information, test results, and/or other materials were not providedto the proper entity before the expiration of the contractuallydetermined time period (block 422), the insurance company may continueto provide unchanged blended coverage having the desired coverage amountfor the remainder of the coverage period (block 426).

After comprehensive medical underwriting (block 428), the insured may beclassified and rated in accordance with the insurance company'sunderwriting guidelines (not shown). The classification may result inthe insured being placed in one of a plurality of risk categoriesranging from unfavorable risk to favorable risk. It should beappreciated that the risk categories may represent a plurality orcontinuum of risk categories representing varying degrees of risk.

As illustrated, comprehensive medical underwriting enables the insurancecompany to determine whether the insured is qualified for improvement inthe blend of coverage provided (block 428). If after comprehensivemedical underwriting the insured qualifies for improvement in the blendof coverage provided (block 428), the insurance company may increase theall-cause coverage component and/or reduce the accidental death onlycomponent for the remainder of the coverage period (block 430). Theamount by which the various coverage portions are so altered may dependupon the risk classification made during comprehensive underwriting. Forexample, more favorable results of comprehensive underwriting may resultin larger increases in all-cause coverage and corresponding decreases inaccidental death only coverage. It should be appreciated that byincreasing the benefit amount provided for death regardless of causeincreases the value of the coverage provided (i.e., the beneficiary ismore likely to receive the total benefit amount upon the death of theinsured). The disclosed method may also enable the insured to increasethe value of coverage provided by reducing the premiums owed for blendedcoverage.

It should be appreciated that if the insured is qualified for a maximumamount of improvement of the blended coverage after comprehensivemedical underwriting, the blend of coverage may include only all-causecoverage having a face amount equal to the total benefit amount. Thus,insurance company may become obligated to disburse the full, desiredbenefit amount upon the occurrence of any insured event regardless ofwhether the insured event is an accidental death (so long as the eventis not one of the specific exclusions contained within the policy).

It should thus be appreciated that the disclosed method may enable aninsurance company to provide a blend of coverage from a continuum ofblends of coverage based on the risk classification of the insuredresulting from the comprehensive medical underwriting. Generally, themore favorable the outcome of underwriting, the more of the totalbenefit amount may be attributable to the face amount of the all-causebenefit.

In one specific example, upon submission of the required information andmaterials necessary to perform the comprehensive medical underwriting,the insurance company may determine two or more “satisfactory”underwriting outcomes. The insurance company may determine a “preferredsatisfactory” underwriting outcome and a “standard satisfactory”underwriting outcome. If the insurance company determines that anindividual is a “preferred satisfactory” underwritten risk, theinsurance company may simply increase the face amount of the all-causecoverage to the total, desired coverage amount of the blended coveragewithout requiring additional premium amounts.

If the insurance company determines that an individual is a “standardsatisfactory” underwritten risk, the insurance company may increase theface amount of the all-cause benefit to an amount less than the desiredcoverage amount of the blended coverage and may reduce the accidentaldeath only benefit amount such that the coverage provided is stillblended coverage, but such that a larger percentage or portion of theblended coverage is all-cause coverage. Moreover, the insurance companymay provide the purchaser of insurance coverage an option to increasethe premium due for coverage in exchange for increasing the all-causecoverage amount to an amount equal to the desired all-cause coverageamount based on medically underwritten rates. This increase in premiummay reflect (1) a termination of the accidental death portion ofcoverage, and (2) an increase in the all-cause portion to equal theoriginally desired face amount. The insurance company may thus providethe purchaser of insurance a choice to provide a relatively smalladditional premium in exchange for all-cause coverage equal to thecoverage amount of the desired, blended coverage amount. It should befurther appreciated that in this additional embodiment, the insurancecompany provides blended coverage including an all-cause portion and anaccidental death only portion, wherein throughout the coverage periodthe ratio between the two types of coverage may change depending onwhether the insured satisfies comprehensive medical underwriting.

It should be appreciated that the categories of “preferred satisfactory”and “standard satisfactory” as risk classification outcomes ofcomprehensive medical underwriting are provided by way of example only.For example, risks may also be classified as preferred plus, preferred,select, standard, table A or table B of any such class, and denied.Preferred plus may result in more favorable blends and/or more favorablepremium rates than all other categories. Table A and table B mayrepresent sub-categories for any suitable risk category, and mayrepresent classifications slightly below the associated category. Thepotential outcomes which result in coverage blends of the continuum ofcoverage blends may be any suitable outcome and may result in anysuitable blend or mix of coverage being provided to the insured.

Alternatively, if the comprehensive medical underwriting results in asufficiently favorable risk classification, the disclosed system mayenable the insured (or other purchaser of insurance) to elect to extendthe coverage period or to receive a more favorable blend of coverage orblended coverage at a reduced rate during the reduced coverage period.For example, the insured may elect to reduce the coverage period by fiveyears in exchange for a reduction in the premium payments due.

The disclosed method may also enable an insurance company to providecoverage to an individual who would otherwise represent an uninsurablerisk. For example, a prospective insured may apply for coverage and mayindicate a desired benefit amount of one million dollars. The initialunderwriting (i.e., the underwriting based on at least one databasequery) may indicate that the prospective insured represents anunsatisfactory risk at the desired benefit amount. The disclosed methodmay enable the insurance company to insure the individual for an amountless than the desired benefit amount by providing an appropriate blendof coverage. The disclosed method may enable the insurance company toprovide coverage to the prospective insured having a total benefitamount of five hundred thousand dollars (as opposed to the desired onemillion dollars) and having a blend including primarily accidental deathonly coverage.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of the change in the blend or mix of thecoverage provided according to the method described in the flow chart ofFIG. 4. Specifically, FIG. 5 illustrates the changes to the mixed orblended coverage that can result from submission of required medicalinformation or material after the issue date 114 but before the end ofthe period stipulated for submission to comprehensive medicalunderwriting. It should be appreciated that the relationshipsillustrated in FIG. 5 may be applicable regardless of whether aninsurance company provides coverage in the form of a single policyincluding a plurality of components of coverage or in the form of apolicy including an all-cause benefit amount and one or more accidentaldeath riders to the policy.

Referring still to FIG. 5, the y-axis 500 represents a blend or mix ofall-cause insurance coverage and accidental death only insurancecoverage provided during the coverage period. The various components ofcoverage may be contained in a single insurance policy, or may be asuitable combination of policies and/or riders to the policies. Thex-axis 502 represents the coverage period, beginning at issue date 114and extending until the policy expiration date (not shown). Alsoillustrated as a point in time on the x-axis 502 is the underwritingdate 512, which may represent the day on which the insurance company orother entity acting on the insurance company's behalf completes medicalunderwriting and makes a determination as to a classification of theunderwritten risk.

As indicated by the legend 504, dotted line 506 represents the value ofthe insurance if the insured 200 fails to provide any required medicalinformation, test results, and/or material (e.g. blood samples) beforethe contractually determined compliance date, or if the results of thecomprehensive medical underwriting indicate that the insured 200 is notqualified for an improvement in the blend of coverage provided. Sincethe insured does not qualify for improved coverage, the blend ofcoverage remains constant throughout the policy period, with a lowportion of the coverage being all-cause coverage and a high portion ofthe coverage being accidental death only coverage. Thus, the dotted line506 remains substantially constant at a relatively low value even afterthe underwriting date 512.

As further indicated by legend 504, dashed line 508 indicates the mix ofcoverage, including all-cause coverage and accidental death onlycoverage, provided during the coverage period 118 if the insured 200satisfies the comprehensive medical underwriting requirements prior tothe contractually determined compliance date, such as on underwritingdate 512, and the insurance company determines that the risk is astandard approved risk. Segment 508 a indicates that an insured 200receives coverage having a blend or mix of coverage components includinga relatively low amount of all-cause coverage and a relatively highamount of accidental death only coverage beginning on the issue date 114and continuing until the variable underwriting date 512. Segment 508 brepresents the mix of coverage including a relatively high amount ofall-cause coverage and a relatively low amount of accidental death onlycoverage after underwriting date 512 due to the insurance company'sclassification of the risk as a standard approved risk. It should beappreciated that dashed line 508 generally represents a blend ofcoverage selected from a middle of a continuum of blends of coverage.

Legend 504 also indicates that sold line 510 represents a blend or mixof coverage, including all-cause coverage and accidental death onlycoverage, provided during the coverage period 118 if the insured 200satisfies the comprehensive medical underwriting requirements prior tothe contractually determined compliance date, such as on underwritingdate 512, and the insurance company determines that the risk is apreferred approved risk. Segment 510 a indicates that an insured 200receives coverage having a mix including a relatively low amount ofall-cause coverage and a relatively high amount of accidental death onlycoverage beginning on the issue date 114 and continuing untilunderwriting date 512. Segment 510 b represents that the mix of coverageincludes all-cause coverage in an amount equal to the desired amount andno accidental death only coverage after the underwriting date 512 due tothe insurance company's classification of the risk as a preferredapproved risk. It should be appreciated that solid line 510 generallyrepresents a blend of coverage selected from the top of a continuum ofblends of coverage.

It should be appreciated that additional levels of risk classificationmay exist, wherein one or more of the levels of risk classification donot afford the purchaser of insurance the option to purchase additionalall-cause insurance to increase the mix to the level indicated bysegment 510 b. Thus, it should be appreciated that line segments 506,508 b, and 510 b represent three possible blends or mixes of coverageselected from a continuum of possible blends or mixes of coverage.

It should be appreciated that the preceding descriptions of theadjustments to blended coverage provided as disclosed may be provided bya policy without riders that includes scheduled amounts payable upondeath that differ in a mount based on the cause of death. Followingmedical underwriting, the schedules may be modified to reflect the riskclassification of the insured individual. It should be furtherappreciated that any of the principles outlined above with respect toblended coverage are also applicable to blended coverage provided by aninsurance policy and one or more riders to that insurance policy.

In summary, persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciatethat methods for selling insurance have been provided. The foregoingdescription has been presented for the purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the exemplary embodiments disclosed. Many modifications andvariations are possible in light of the above teachings. It is intendedthat the scope of the invention not be limited by this detaileddescription of examples, but instead by the claims below.

1. A system for providing life insurance, the system comprising: at least one insurance company host device configured to: (a) receive an application for insurance; (b) perform at least one database query based on data contained in the application for insurance; (c) determine whether to accept the application for insurance based on the at least one database query; (d) if the determination is not to accept the application for insurance, send an indication of denial of the application to a sender of the application; and (e) if the determination is to accept the application for insurance, generate a policy resulting from the acceptance of the application, the policy obligating an insurer to: (i) provide life insurance coverage for a total policy amount in exchange for a first set of premium payments during a first period of time, each of the first set of premium payments having a first amount, and (ii) provide the life insurance coverage for the total policy amount in exchange for a second set of premium payments during a second period of time, each of the second set of premium payments having: A. a second amount if a set of results of comprehensive underwriting is satisfactory, and B. a third amount greater than the second amount if the set of results of comprehensive underwriting is unsatisfactory.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the comprehensive underwriting includes an analysis of a risk associated with an insured individual.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the analysis of the risk associated with the insured individual is based on medical testing performed by a third party.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the medical testing includes analysis of a blood sample of the insured individual.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one insurance company host device is configured to receive the application for insurance from a prospective insured client device.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one insurance company host device is configured to receive the application for insurance via a data network.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the data network includes the Internet.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one insurance company host device is configured to receive the application for insurance from an agent client device.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the insurance company host device is configured to perform a database query using at least one database selected from the group consisting of: a department of motor vehicles database, a Medial Information Bureau database, and a publicly available web-based database.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein a difference between the second amount and the third amount is based on the set of results of comprehensive underwriting.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one insurance company host device is configured to generate an alternate insurance offer if the set of results of the comprehensive underwriting is unsatisfactory.
 12. A system for providing life insurance, the system comprising: at least one insurance company host device configured to: (a) receive an application for insurance; (b) perform at least one database query based on data contained in the application for insurance; (c) determine whether to accept the application for insurance based on the at least one database query; (d) if the determination is not to accept the application for insurance, send an indication of denial of the application to a sender of the application; and (e) if the determination is to accept the application for insurance, generate a policy resulting from the acceptance of the application, the policy obligating an insurer to: (i) provide life insurance coverage for a first policy amount during a first period of time in exchange for a set of premium payments during the first period of time, (ii) provide the life insurance coverage for a second policy amount during a second period of time in exchange for a second set of premium payments during the second period of time if a set of results of comprehensive underwriting is satisfactory, and (iii) provide the life insurance coverage for a third policy amount during the second period of time in exchange for the second set of premium payments during the second period of time if the set of results of comprehensive underwriting is unsatisfactory, the second policy amount being greater than the third policy amount.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the comprehensive underwriting includes an analysis of a risk associated with an insured individual.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the analysis of the risk associated with the insured individual is based on medical testing performed by a third party.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the medical testing includes analysis of a blood sample of the insured individual.
 16. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one insurance company host device is configured to receive the application for insurance from a prospective insured client device.
 17. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one insurance company host device is configured to receive the application for insurance from an agent client device.
 18. The system of claim 12, wherein a difference between the second policy amount and the third policy amount is based on the set of results of comprehensive underwriting.
 19. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one insurance company host device is configured to generate an alternate insurance offer if the set of results of the comprehensive underwriting is unsatisfactory.
 20. A method of providing life insurance, the method comprising: receiving, on at least one insurance company host device, identification information and underwriting information associated with an insured on an application for life insurance of the insured, the identification information including at least one of a desired benefit amount and a desired premium amount; causing the at least one insurance company host device to perform at least one database query based on the underwriting information to produce a query result; causing the at least one insurance company host device to determine whether the person qualifies for the life insurance having the desired benefit amount, the desired policy amount, or both, based on the query result; causing the at least one insurance company host device to generate an insurance document indicating that a life insurance provider will provide the life insurance, the life insurance having a total benefit amount equal to the desired benefit amount, a premium amount equal to the desired premium amount, or both; providing life insurance coverage at the total benefit amount for the premium amount without requiring any medical test results associated with the person any time during the coverage period; and adjusting the life insurance coverage by reducing the total benefit amount during a coverage period, increasing the premium amount during the coverage period, or both, if medical test results associated with the person are received and indicate an unfavorable medically underwritten risk classification.
 21. The method of claim 20, including causing the at least one insurance company host device to classify a risk represented by the person based on the medical test results.
 22. The method of claim 21, which includes causing the at least one insurance company host device to adjust the life insurance coverage based on the risk classification.
 23. The method of claim 20, wherein providing the life insurance coverage includes providing a single life insurance policy including an all-cause component and an accidental death component.
 24. The method of claim 20, wherein providing the life insurance coverage includes providing at least one policy and at least one rider to the policy.
 25. The method of claim 20, which includes causing the at least one insurance company host device to display a plurality of options for the desired coverage period selected from the group consisting of a term of years, a whole of life of the insured individual, an age attained by the insured individual, and a period of years during which the premium payment remains level.
 26. The method of claim 20, which includes causing the at least one insurance company host device to determine that the person does not qualify for life insurance based on the query result and which includes providing life insurance having a reduced benefit amount which is less than the desired benefit amount. 